G.O.P. Witnesses, Paid by Trump Ally, Embraced Jan. 6 Conspiracy Theories

The Democratic report includes excerpts from depositions and evidence of conspiratorial social media posts.

It also details the ties between Mr. Trump’s inner circle and the witnesses. For instance, Mr. Patel found Mr. Friend his next job, working as a fellow on domestic intelligence and security services with the Center for Renewing America, which is run by Russ Vought. The center is largely funded by the Conservative Partnership Institute, which is run by Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s former chief of staff, and former Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina.

“Based on this evidence, committee Democrats conclude that there is a strong likelihood that Kash Patel is encouraging the witnesses to continue pursuing their meritless claims, and in fact is using them to help propel his vendetta against the F.B.I., Justice Department, and Biden administration on behalf of himself and President Trump,” the report says.

Republicans argue they received useful information from the men for their investigation. For instance, Mr. Hill told the subcommittee the F.B.I. regularly conducted nationwide calls involving all 56 field offices after Jan. 6. Mr. Hill described the calls as “bordering on hysterical,” according to excerpts from transcripts reviewed by The Times.

Mr. Friend has been celebrated in conservative circles, with right-wing pundits seizing on his accusations as evidence of wrongdoing at the F.B.I. But those claims did not appear to hold up during his testimony.

Mr. Friend has said he refused to take part in a S.W.A.T. raid of a Jan. 6 suspect facing misdemeanor charges, which at the time he called an “excessive use of force,” to which he was a “conscientious objector.” The suspect, Tyler Bensch, was accused of being a member of a right-wing militia group connected to the Three Percenter movement. Documents in Mr. Bensch’s case indicate that on Jan. 6, 2021, he posted a video of himself outside the Capitol wearing body armor and a gas mask and carrying an AR-15-style rifle.

Under questioning, the committee said that Mr. Friend “confirmed that ownership of a firearm, even without any additional factors, in fact would be enough of a factor on its own to justify deploying a S.W.A.T. team in an arrest.”